


personae non gratae

by isadorator



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Clones, Family, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Just watch me, Legal Drama, Politics, Time Travel, Worldbuilding, all while cackling madly, and ride furiously past the stations of canon, i'm going to take this denailed and loose-shoed horse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 22:43:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15616635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isadorator/pseuds/isadorator
Summary: The second Ladybug and the second Alix Kubdel do not conveniently disappear when Timebreaker is defeated. The world must come to terms with their existence...and so do they.("because you’re not a true superhero until someone clones you and you gotta live with it, amirite" -hallie, 2016)





	personae non gratae

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [time ≠ water](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7954243) by [isadorator](https://archiveofourown.org/users/isadorator/pseuds/isadorator). 



> heyyyyyyyyyyy, i'm back with something i haven't tried for a couple of years: actually completing a multi-chapter fic. but why you may ask? because you gain experience even from your failures and i fucking love this au so much I WANT TO TRY ;o; and yes, this is an expansion of time ≠ water :Dc
> 
> special thanks to [crispy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zaphirite) and [hallie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/exosolarmoon) for looking at this chapter for me, i appreciate it so much ♥ hallie was also the one who originally came up with [this plotbunny](http://clairelutra.tumblr.com/post/149092237445/reeeeeeally-self-indulgent-things-i-shouldnt-be), i'm only the person who took it and decided to run a fucking m a r a t h o n
> 
> **a quick note** : i'll be using the french airing order as the 'base' timeline (since zagtoon refuses to give us an _actually coherent_ timeline *grumblegrumble*). this means origins part 1 and 2, stormy weather, the bubbler, mr. pigeon, copycat, and timebreaker (up until the end) have all happened as in canon. everything else is fair game for me to mess with or completely ignore ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

A universe is governed by its laws. For this particular universe, two are relevant for the following events.

_One:_

Time cannot be accurately described as a material substance. It is not water flowing in a river, swift and sure in one direction. It is not the flap of a butterfly’s wings, cascading into a tornado of change.

Simply put, time is math. Something exists, then something happens. All the elements of the past make up all the elements of the present.

(1 + 1 = 2)

Travelling forward is as easy as existing one second after the other.

Travelling backward is easy too, once enough energy and the right equipment are acquired. You shuffle yourself to the other side of the equation, make yourself part of the past instead of the present. You change the terms of the equation, transforming your past into the present and your present into the future.

(1 + 1 + 1 ≠ 2)

The future is nothing but possibility. With a new variable in the present, the future you travelled from is now an impossibility.

(1 + 1 + 1 = 3)

The old equation, your past, no longer exists. The old solution, your present, no longer exists.

But you do.

_Two:_

The Kwami of Creation shall only utilize powers within her domain. She may create. She may restore.

She shall not destroy.

  


* * *

  


When Ladybug tossed up her Lucky Charm, scooped up Alix’s watch, and fist bumped her past self for a job well done, she hadn’t given any thought to what would happen when Tikki’s magic ladybugs swarmed over them both.

She was surprised to learn the answer was ‘nothing at all’.

Ladybug blinked and dropped her hand, staring with her past self as the ladybugs swarmed around the two Timebreakers and left…two Alixes.

Um.

“Is this—?” the other Ladybug began to say, only to be interrupted by the Alixes’ surprised yelps.

“What the heck?!” they yelled before freezing at their echoing words. “Stop that! No, you! Arrrrghhh!”

“Ok, let’s calm down,” said Ladybug, holding her hands out to placate the Alixes. She glanced back to see her past self picking up Alix’s (Alixes’) pocket watch. Ladybug’s head was spinning—her powers had never failed before. Was something wrong with her Miraculous? Or Tikki? Did travelling through time mess with something? “We’ll…we’ll figure this out…uh.”

The other Ladybug held out the watch to one Alix, then the other, then glanced back at Ladybug, unsure which one the watch belonged to.

It was a relief when Chat Noir leaped over, devil-may-care grin on his face.

_It was relief to see him still leaping at all_ , she thought before dismissing it. Even with this hiccup, things were fine now. They _had_ to be.

“Got some double trouble, my ladies?” asked Chat.

Despite his light tone, his body was tense and his eyes watchful. He knew just as well as she did how unprecedented this situation was.

It didn’t help that both her and her past self’s earrings beeped at the same time.

“Unfortunately. Looks like we’ll have to put this on pause for now,” said Ladybug.

Chat’s ring started beeping too. Just what they needed.

“But we’ll be back soon,” the other Ladybug continued, passing the pocket watch to the closest Alix.

“Hey! Why are you giving it to _her?_ ” the other Alix demanded.

“We don’t have time to get into it right now, but the akuma you turned into had time travelling powers,” explained the other Ladybug. “You’re both Alix, so it doesn’t matter which of you we give it to, since it’s both your responsibility. Right?”

The other Alix frowned, but backed down with a sigh. The Alix with the watch held it tight to her chest.

“Of course,” said the Alixes.

Smiling with relief, Ladybug turned back to Chat Noir. “Meet you back here, kitty?”

“It’s a date,” he said with a wink.

The three of them shot off, Chat running in one direction while Ladybug and her past self headed home.

  


* * *

  


They didn’t make it in time, forcing Ladybug to drop down and hide in a quiet alley. The other Ladybug quickly followed, and they both closed their eyes as their transformations fell away.

It was still strange to see her mirror image standing in front of her. But it was even stranger to see two Tikkis fly out of their Miraculous and then _melt into each other_ , leaving just one Tikki lying on the ground.

“Tikki!?”

Marinette and her past self both reached for their kwami at the same time, bumping their heads in the process. They settled on huddling together in a recess, Tikki resting on the other Marinette’s lap while Marinette gently fed their kwami a cookie from her bag.

“Sorry,” Tikki said quietly. “Getting that much power at once…I hope I didn’t scare you.”

“A little,” Marinette admitted, sharing a worried look with her past self.

“Are you feeling better?” the other Marinette asked.

Tikki gingerly sat up and then floated to their eye level, stretching with her tiny, nubby limbs. She finished with a twirl in the air.

“Much!” she said with a grin.

Marinette let out a relieved sigh and tried not to start when her past self did the same.

“Thank goodness. But…Tikki, did Miraculous Ladybug not work because you were sick?” Marinette asked.

Tikki stilled, her silent gaze shifting to the other Marinette, then landing heavily on Marinette herself.

Her kwami was sad, Marinette realized with a twist in her gut. But her eyes were still so kind.

“There’s nothing wrong with Miraculous Ladybug,” said Tikki.

“What do you mean? There’s still two of us! And two of Alix! Of course there’s something wrong,” the other Marinette said, unintentionally voicing Marinette’s thoughts.

None of this made any sense at all.

“Marinette, I need you to listen to what I’m saying right now,” Tikki said calmly. “Both of you. This is important for you two to know, for now and in case it ever happens again. Miraculous Ladybug worked exactly as it was supposed to.”

“You can’t be serious,” Marinette said.

Tikki floated closer, her voice soft as she continued.

“Humans can use my Miraculous to create and restore as needed. But my power can’t restore something if it means completely destroying something else.” She finally lowered her eyes. “Only one timeline can exist in this universe. I can’t restore the old one because I would be destroying _this_ one. There’s nowhere for the two of you except here.”

The two of you…meaning Marinette and one of the Alixes.

“We only went back a few minutes,” Marinette murmured, shock sending a chill through her body.

“Time travel, no matter how far you go back, is impossible without destroying the original timeline,” was Tikki’s reply.

“So…wait, there’s going to be two of us? Forever? And two of Alix?” the other Marinette asked, confused. “Can’t you just…smash us together like you did with, well, you?”

“Kwamis are different from humans. Doing that with two humans means one of them will be destroyed, and you both exist separately now. It’s outside my power.”

“Oh,” said Marinette.

They really were stuck like this. And so were the Alixes.

“Wow,” said the other Marinette—and if this really was permanent, they were going to have to figure out names. “Uh, there’s enough space for two people in my— _our_ room. Mama and Papa will be surprised that there’s two of us now, but I’m sure they’ll be happy.”

Tikki still looked sad and worried, antenna drooping, and the realization hit Marinette like a cold front.

“No,” said Marinette numbly. “There are two _Ladybugs_.”

“Le Papillon knows there are two of you now,” Tikki explained, not quite looking either of them in the eye. “The Alixes should be relatively safe with their family. But if anyone found out there are two Marinettes…”

“They’d realize I’m— _we’re_ Ladybug!” gasped the other Marinette.

Marinette (the first, the _worst_ ) fisted her hands at her side, staring at the ground.

She’d almost lost Chat, and now, instead, she was going to lose—

“Until Hawk Moth is gone, to keep our identity secret…I can’t go home,” Marinette concluded, looking up. “Can I?”

Tikki hesitated before nodding, and Marinette felt tears well up in her eyes.

It wasn’t fair. _It wasn’t fair_.

An arm looped around her shoulders, pulling her close, and Marinette looked up at her past self, startled.

“That’s not fair!” said the other Marinette, frowning at Tikki. “Why can’t it be me? Why does it have to be her?”

Marinette had the sudden, wild thought that _this_ may be what her friends felt like whenever she stuck up for them.

“We can’t give Le Papillon any clues, so there can’t be any mismatch in your memories of today,” Tikki explained. She pointed at the other Marinette. “You’re the Marinette of this timeline.” She pointed at Marinette. “And you’re the Marinette of the previous timeline. We can’t risk it.” She put down her arm. “And I can’t apologize enough for this.”

Tikki really did seem sorry. Marinette swallowed down the lump in her throat and croaked, “Where…where can I stay? If I can’t go home…”

Her past self squeezed Marinette’s shoulder in wordless support.

“There’s a safe place I can take you, but only you,” said Tikki. “It’s a secret that’s as important as your identities.”

Marinette and her past self shared the same anxious look, and it was…reassuring that someone else understood the way she was feeling. Even if that someone else was _her_.

Sniffing, Marinette wiped her eyes and stood up, her past self a breath behind.

“Okay, Tikki,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “Let’s go.”

“We still need to explain things to Alix. Alixes.” The other Marinette groaned. “This is going to be tricky if only one of us can be Ladybug…”

“Oh, that’s not a problem!” said Tikki.

Her— _Their_ kwami closed her eyes and glowed pink before _budding_ another Tikki out of her body.

“Now that I have two bodies and two Miraculous…” began the first Tikki.

“You can both be Ladybug at the same time,” finished the second Tikki.

_Right_. Kwami. Not human. 

“I’ll go talk to the Alixes and Chat Noir, then,” said the other Marinette. “Tikki, transform me!”

Just like Tikki said, only one of her bodies flew into the other Marinette’s Miraculous, and it was really weird to see the transformation process from outside. Pretty, but _very weird_.

“Tikki needs to tell me where to go, so…I guess we’ll head there by foot,” said Marinette. She tried to smile, but it felt…impossible. “See you later?”

Ladybug looked back, lips drawn thin, before she reached forward and pulled Marinette into a hug.

“See you soon,” she said, patting her back. Then Ladybug pulled back to throw her yoyo and swing away, quickly disappearing into the skyline.

Marinette watched her go and hugged herself, trying to keep that warmth for a little longer.

It might be the last hug she’d get for a long, long time.

  


* * *

  


With Tikki hiding in her hair and whispering directions into her ear, Marinette found herself only a few districts from her home (her school, her friends, her family, _her life_ —)

“The third building on the left,” said Tikki.

Her soft voice broke Marinette out of another cycle of panic and anxiety. Chewing on her lip, Marinette turned in the direction of an unassuming brick building, retrofitted with a grocery store on the ground floor. There was a private wellness studio on the second floor, with residential apartments on the third and fourth floors.

It looked like nothing she would imagine a safe house for a superhero to be. And maybe that was the _point_.

Doing a quick scan of the crowd, Marinette headed towards the grocery store until Tikki hissed, “Second floor!”

R _ight_. She lurched towards the stairwell instead, climbing them two at a time in order to escape the stares aimed her way.

When she reached the door to the studio, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

‘Sifu Wellness Studio’ had to be a pun. Somehow.

“Just knock on the door, Marinette,” whispered Tikki.

Aaaaand she was focusing on the sign because she definitely wasn’t scared (and upset and _terrified_ —)

Marinette slapped her cheeks, squared her shoulders, and knocked on the door.

There was a slow shuffle of footsteps before the door swung open, revealing an old man with a bright Hawaiian shirt, a cane, and a rueful smile.

“Hello, Marinette,” he said gently. “Please, come in.”


End file.
